Custom essays: Public Agency Audit

Big Brothers Big Sisters agency is a non-profit agency that focuses on mentoring children and the youth to help them to succeed in their education and define their professional career development. The paper discusses the performance of the organization and its successes as well as the organizational structure and culture. Big Brothers Big Sisters agency proves to be one of the most successful non-profit public agencies in the US.

 
Big Brothers Big Sisters is one of the largest non-profit public agencies, which focus on mentoring the youth to help children and young people to obtain basic education and start their professional career. In actuality, Big Brothers Big Sisters agency is ranked fourth among the US non-profit organizations (Furano, 1985). However, the effectiveness and the role of Big Brothers Big Sisters agency cannot be defined in financial terms only. Instead, it is necessary to take into consideration the impact of the agency and its activities on the life of those children mentored by volunteers and professionals working at Big Brothers Big Sisters. In such a way, the audit of Big Brothers Big Sisters should focus not only on the financial performance of the organization but rather on the effectiveness of the work of the agency and its impact on the youth, who need the support from the part of non-profit organizations capable to provide children and young people with mentoring service because today education and social experience are of the utmost importance for starting a professional career and a successful personal life.
In actuality, Big Brothers Big Sisters agency operates in 50 states of the US and 17 countries worldwide. The agency maintains its traditional aims to educate and mentor children in need. Basically, the main goal of the agency is to assist children in their education, to guide them through their life, when they are in need because often children are deprived of the parental care, whereas social workers and educators cannot always provide children with the mentoring services they need. In such a situation, 500 affiliates of Big Brothers Big Sisters proved to be particularly helpful to children in need because professionals and volunteers working at the public agency can help children and mentor them. As a result, today, children enrolled in programs of Big Brothers Big Sisters are twice less likely to skip or drop out from school than children, which are in a difficult position, who are not enrolled in the agency’s programs (Greif, 1997).
The agency employs volunteers and professionals working in different fields but, as a rule, the agency focuses on the employment of educators, health care professionals, psychologists, social workers and volunteers, who are eager to help children (Beiswinger, 1985). Big Brothers Big Sisters provides a wide range of mentoring services to children enrolled in the agency’s programs. At the same time, practically all children enrolled in the agency’s program get free mentoring services and professional assistance from the part of volunteers working at Big Brothers Big Sisters. Children have an opportunity to get the support from the part of the agency and to stumble through hard times in their life, when their parents or educators are not fully capable to provide children with the support and assistance they need.
In such a situation, Big Brothers Big Sisters agency pays a particular attention to the qualification and background of its employees. The agency tends to employ professionals, who are willing to work with children (Furano, 1993). In fact, the agency policy stands on the ground that volunteers and professionals working at the agency should make a conscious choice and be eager to help children without expecting any rewards or material benefits. In actuality, the agency uses the mixed type of employment. This means that a part of volunteers and employees of the agency are employed directly, whereas another part consists of contract employees. At the moment, Big Brothers Big Sisters agency attempts to expand the share of volunteers and employees employed by the agency directly. Nevertheless, to manage the agency effectively, Big Brothers Big Sisters agency has to employ professionals and sign contracts to increase their responsibility for the use of funds and organizational performance. In this respect, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that it is the managerial staff mainly that includes contract professionals, whereas average employees are mainly hired directly. On the other hand, the contract professionals are under the supervision and strict control of the agency that minimizes the risk of the misuse of power, funds, information and other misdeeds that may be committed by professionals working at Big Brothers Big Sisters agency.
Professionals working at Big Brothers Big Sisters agency expect to help children and the career development is normally not the main priority, although contract professionals are very concerned with their professional development and career growth. However, the agency is traditionally oriented on the provision of children with mentoring services and the work of the agency implies the extensive use of volunteers doing volunteer jobs, which, a priori, do not imply the promotion and fast career development. On the other hand, the agency provides volunteers and employees working at Big Brothers Big Sisters with useful social and professional experience which they can use in their regular life and in their professional career. As a result, the agency is a source of important experience and training for its employees.
Big Brothers Big Sisters agency is interested in the retention of professionals employed within the agency. To maintain the high retention rate and to prevent the high level of redundancy, the agency uses the promotion programs, when experienced employees get larger responsibilities or they can even be transferred to a new region or country, where the agency starts its operations. In such a way, employees get larger duties and responsibilities and they have larger opportunities to implement their ideas being motivated by the agency to have better prospects in the future. In fact, such prospects prove to be quite effective in the course of recruitment because people willing to help children join eagerly the agency, when they see that their help can expand in the course of time.
On the other hand, Big Brothers Big Sisters agency has always paid a lot of attention to the quality of mentoring services being provided for children enrolled in the agency’s programs. To provide mentoring services of the high quality, the agency has implemented the total quality management strategy, which laid emphasis on the quality of services and work of employees of agency with children. In such a way, the agency has managed to reach positive outcomes in its work and, today, Big Brothers Big Sisters provides mentoring services to about 250,000 children worldwide (Greif, 1997). Moreover, the agency keeps working on the expanding its operations and improvement of the quality of its services.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the fact that BBBS focuses on several key criteria in recruitment of employees. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the educational background of applicants, including their education (college, University), their degree, and so on. Another important criterion is the professional experience, preferable in the field of education, including institutions and organizations, where an applicant has been working and how long the applicant has been working there, any rewards and other marks of professional development. In addition, the agency pays a lot of attention to psychological characteristic of applicants conducting psychological tests to reveal their basic inclinations and traits of character suitable for work in the agency.
Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to conclude that BBBS is an effective organization that helps children and young people to find their way in their professional and personal life. Through education, BBBS helps the younger generation to start a successful and socially integrated life. Today, the agency operates internationally that increases the role and effectiveness of BBBS as a non-profit organization.

References
Beiswinger, G. L. (1985). One to One: The Story of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Movement in America. Philadelphia: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
Furano, K. (1993). Big Brothers Big Sisters: A Study of Program Practices. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.
Greif, R. S. (1997). Big Impact: Big Brothers Making a Difference. Boston: New Hat.